College or retirement? Don’t choose one, accommodate both

You know you have a hard choice to make in front of you when you are deciding whether to save for your child’s college education or your own retirement. Only the best for my children—isn’t it the motto of every parent, after all? Especially, the parents who had a hard time funding their own education would never imagine putting their kids through such turmoil. But, let’s face it, there are loans, scholarships and financial aids that can get your child through college, but name one bank that would give out a loan for retirement! In a more generic sense, parents are supposed to have seen their kids through college before they start saving up for retirement. But, very few people start families early enough to meet that goal. In addition to this, college education costs are only rocketing every year. It is estimated by the College Board that an average private education would cost like $287,000 for four years and the same in a public entity would cost up to $133,000 by the year 2020. If you are one of those who are saving up for your kid’s college, didn’t that jolt you out of your senses? Increasing educational costs are rendering several couples without any retirement money or with mortgage payments to be made, forcing them to work throughout their life! There is an urgent need to solve the dilemma and working out both retirement and college into your balance sheet.

There are options, of course. Postponing retirement is first and obvious one. The next one would be to accept some lifestyle changes reducing the general cost of living. If it is a hard for you to do that now, you can always choose to do so after retirement. You wouldn’t need such a big house after your kids move out, would you? And what is the point of living in the hustle-bustle of the city when you are no longer working? You can work part-time during retirement—you can keep yourself from getting bored while earning a little to keep the general expenses flowing. You will have to increase your earnings. While killing someone to get that promotion is not necessary, you can always ask your spouse to return to work. We all invest in one bond or the other and while we’re at it, why not make our investments a bit more aggressive to get a higher return? Just a little bit, mind you.

You must accept the fact that even after doing all this, you might not be able to retire comfortably. It is not bad to put a little of the responsibility on your children’s shoulders. They are young and vulnerable now, but they’ll grow up. Besides funding all or a part of his education is bound to improve your child’s performance. Instead of mortgaging your own house, you can always help out in education loan payments! Be generous to your kids. But remember the fact that one day they will have to take care of themselves no matter how much you try to help them out.